Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has firmly denied that Jeffrey Epstein was ever affiliated with Mossad, calling the accusation “categorically and totally false” in a post on social media on July 14.

“As a former Israeli Prime Minister, with the Mossad having reported directly to me, I say to you with 100% certainty: The accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false,” Bennett posted on X. “This accusation is a lie being peddled by prominent online personalities such as Tucker Carlson pretending they know things they don’t.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DALLAS EXPRESS APP

The claim that Epstein had intelligence ties—whether to Israel or another state—has circulated for years and received new scrutiny in 2019, when journalist Vicky Ward reported that former U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said he was told to back off Epstein because “Epstein belonged to intelligence.” Acosta allegedly told Trump transition officials that Epstein was “above his pay grade,” and the transition team hired him anyway.

That reported account, which Ward says came from a former senior White House official, has not been formally addressed or refuted by Acosta in full. In a separate press appearance in 2019, Acosta appeared to implicitly distance himself from the claim, referring to Epstein’s intelligence ties as merely “reported.”

Epstein’s ties to foreign or domestic intelligence services are undeniable. However, a question remains about how deep these ties run.

A 2023 Wall Street Journal review of Epstein’s private calendar revealed meetings with several high-profile individuals after his 2008 conviction for a sex crime involving a minor. Among those meetings listed were then–Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who left office as CIA director in January of this year, and former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler.

The CIA has denied any significant connection.

A spokesperson for the agency told the WSJ that Burns had been introduced to Epstein as a financial expert and received general career advice as he was preparing to leave public service. “The director did not know anything about him, other than that he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector,” the spokesperson said.

Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender, pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That plea deal, cut by Acosta while he was U.S. Attorney in Miami, brought a halt to a broader federal investigation into allegations of sex trafficking and abuse involving underage girls.

In a press conference last week, current U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “To him being an [intelligence] agent, I have no knowledge of that. We can get back to you on that.” Her admission of unfamiliarity with the allegation—despite it being public since 2019—sparked further questions about what, if anything, government agencies have done to investigate the possibility.

Although Epstein’s connections to intelligence agencies are clouded in mystery, reporting has long suggested links between his social circle and various intelligence-adjacent figures.

The Telegraph has previously reported that Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell—who died under mysterious circumstances in 1991—had ties to multiple intelligence agencies, including MI6, the KGB, and Mossad. He was buried in Israel with state honors, attended by top Israeli leadership, according to The Washington Post.

Ghislaine would later indicate in a deposition that she met Epstein that same year, although it is unclear if it was before or after her father’s death, per ABC News.

None of the individuals listed in Epstein’s private calendar appeared in the so-called “black book” or on known flight logs of his private jet.

For now, the question of whether Epstein was operating on behalf of any intelligence agency—American, Israeli, or otherwise—remains unresolved.